Apparatus for removing railroad wheels



Sept. 3, 1968 W. J. HEGEDUS ETAL APPARATUS FOR REMOVING RAILROAD WHEELS Filed April 7.

'IIHH.

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS M44751? 0. Hess-ova CHARLES A. LEYEQLE A m/vars p 3, 1963 w. J. HEGEDUS ETAL APPARATUS FOR REMOVING RAILROAD WHEELS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1966 l N VEN TORS Y s B $5: I? an Q1; r a QT Q {1L and n s m.. 655:::t l a fi aigi & NTM E M mm 3 0v H 0N m I p 1968 w. J. HEGEDUS ET AL 3,399,447

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING RAILROAD WHEELS Filed April 7, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 INVENTORS Mum a, HEGEous 0042465 A. LE'YEQLE United States Patent 3,399,447 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING RAILROAD WHEELS Walter J. Hegedus, Pittsford, and Charles A. Leyerle, Jr.,

Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Farrel Corporation, Ansonia, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 541,003 11 Claims. (Cl. 29208) This application relates to a method and apparatus for removing the wheels from a railroad axle and more particularly to a method by which the wheels at each end of a railroad axle are removed one at a time with the axle being turned about a vertical axis between the removal of the first wheel and the removal of the second wheel and the invention further relates to a particular apparatus for practicing this method, namely, to a wheel press in combination with a rotating and power-operated abutment.

Men skilled in the art of railroad wheel and axle maintenance have struggled for more than a century with the problem of removing the wheels from their axles with a minimum of handling and equipment. But, until the present invention, they have had to either build a doubleended press, which is really two presses in one so that when an axle is once positioned in the press, the wheel on each end may be removed by the press adjacent to it or, in order to use the simpler and less expensive singleended press, they have had to practice the cumbersome operations of loading the axle, removing one wheel, then removing the axle from the press and jockeying it from end to end by some auxiliary system, then reloading the axle and removing the second wheel.

It is an object of this invention to teach a method for efficiently removing wheels from a railroad axle effectively and with a minimum of handling.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus so that wheels may be removed from a railroad axle by a single-ended press without having to load and unload the axle for the removal of each wheel.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus whereby the axle may be loaded onto a rotating abutment on one side of the press, and rotated and unloaded from the abutment on the other side of the press and whereby the turning of the abutment may be accomplished in an even rhythm, it being given a half turn after each wheel is removed.

According to the method of the present invention, a railroad axle having a wheel at each end is moved from a storage area to a work area, at the work area force is applied to move one wheel and the axle axially with respect to each other so that the wheel is removed from the axle. The axle and the remaining wheel are then rotated approximately 180, force is applied between the remaining wheel and the axle to move them axially with respect to one another so that the remaining wheel is removed from the axle, and the axle is then removed from the work location to a receiving area.

According to the further teaching of the invention, a specific apparatus is provided for the practice of the above method. In summary, this apparatus comprises a single-ended press which may be generally conventional in construction except as will be understood by those skilled in the art in view of the following discussion. In the approximate center of the press, generally midway between the ram end and the support end, an axle support and abutment member is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. According to a further teaching of the invention, the abutment is surrounded by a horizontal turntable set flush with the shop floor to aid in loading and unloading the axles.

It is acknowledged that insofar as the invention concerns an apparatus, it concerns a wheel demounting pressnot a mounting press, and that the designs of the two different kinds of press are seen by men skilled in the art as presenting surprisingly different problems. This will be apparent when it is realized that only about half as much tonnage is required for mounting as is requred for demounting, that the problems of pushing a wheel and an axle and a wheel together are different from separating that combination into three separate units and involves different placement and construction of the abutment, etc. Nonetheless, some mounting presses can be converted to demount wheels, although the reverse is generally not true, and it is a further object of the present invention to provide a demounting press which can be easily converted to mounting operations.

The above objects and others will be understood by men skilled in the art from the following description and drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the press with a wheel set there- FIG. 2 is a right end view of the press;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the press with a wheel set therein;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional View of the abutment turning apparatus taken generally along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the abutment assembly taken generally along line 55 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the press ram adapted for mounting.

The method of the present invention is as described above. It may also be understood from the following description of an apparatus designed to practice this method with singular economy.

A wheel set consisting of an axle 1 and wheels 2 and 3 is removed from rolling stock and may be stored in a storage area. When it is desired to removed the wheels from the axle, the set is rolled to the apparatus of the invention. This may be done on tracks or it may be accomplished by simply rolilng the set on the Wheel flanges 4 over a smooth floor as is indicated in the drawings.

The apparatus of the present invention includes 'a single-ended press which, except as will be understood by those skilled in the art in view of the following description, may be generally conventional in construction.

The ram end of the press comprises a large hydraulic cylinder 5 with a ram 6 carried by piston assembly 7. This cylinder is powered by motor 8 driving pumps 9 and 10 which are provided for efiiciency in supplying fluid to the cylinder at both low and high pressures, The prefill valve is shown at 11 and an air breather and strainer at 12 but it should be understood that the electrical and hydraulic circuitry follow the usualpractice. For example, the motors and pumps may be mounted on an oil reservoir that is provided with a sight gauge.

The ram end of the press is connected to the support end of the press shown generally at 13 by tie rods 14, these tie rods being pinned at their ends to the general frame of the support end and to the support portions on the ram by pins 14a and as is apparent from the drawings.

The support end includes a hydraulic cylinder 15 with a ram 16 that may -be used for positioning the axle 1. This cylinder may be powered in conventional manner.

The support end also includes a mounting block 17 on a vertical slide bar 18 which has an opening 19. The slide bar and thus the block 17 is powered for vertical reciprocation by a fluid cylinder 20 through connecting rod 21.

An 'axle support and abutment assembly 22 is located approximately midway between the ram and the support end of the press. This assembly is rotatably supported on the tie rods or bars 14 through bearing and support members 24 that are pinned to the tie bars by pins 14b.

The weight of the abutment assembly and the wear from its rotation may be taken on plates 25 and the assembly is otherwise attached to the suport members 24 by a lower shaft 26 and an upper shaft 27 that is keyed at 28 to the main abutment frame 29.

The abutment frame 29 is shown heavy construction and it must be so constructed since according to this embodiment of the invention it takes the full pressure of the main ram 6. The main frame 29 includes a throat shown generally at 30 to receive the axle. At each end of the throat an insert 31 may be provided to receive the force of the demounting pressure and distributed it to the frame. These inserts and the throat generaly have a U- shape that faces towards what may be called for convenience in this description the front of the abutment.

A round support surface 32 is provided about the general abutment housing 29 and supported with it on the plates 25. The spacing between the surface 32 and the throat 30 is such that standard railroad wheel sets may be rolled into position, although of course this Spacing can be adapted for special jobs. The surface 32 is preferably set level with the delivery surface from which the wheel surface is received and level with the removal surface to which it will be delivered.

The surface 32 is provided with a recessed portion or trough running generally along the diameter parallel the throat of the abutment and having dollies 33 which may be equipped with wheels 34 for ease of movement in and out along the recess. The upper portion or carrying surface 35 of the dollies is level with the support surface 32, although it may be slightly shaped to receive a small portion of a wheel that is to be demounted or mounted).

The abutment and support surface 32 may be powered for rotation about shafts 26 and 27 by a fluid cylinder 37 operating through connecting rod 38 and rack 39 acting on pinion 40 which is keyed at 41 to an extension 42 of the shaft 27 that is in turn keyed at 28 to the main abutment housing 29 which is rigidly connected to the support surface 32.

In operation the wheel set is rolled fromthe work storage area over a smooth delivery surface and the smooth support surface 32 until it is positioned in the throat 30 of the abutment assembly 22. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the wheel set is shown in outline with the wheels mounted on the axle. The hubs 37 of the wheels are adjacent the inserts 31 and the flanges 4 of the wheels 2 and 3 are resting on the dollies 33.

As shown in the figures, as soon as it is loaded, the wheel set is in position for the removal of wheel 2. This is accomplished by extending the ram 6 against the axle end 38 to move it axially away from the ram end of the press and toward the support end of the press. The wheel 2 is, after a short take-up movement, held against this movement by the insert 31 bearing against the hub 37. In this manner, forces are applied to move the first wheel 2 and the axle axially with respect to each other so that the wheel is broken free from the axle.

If desired, the stroke of the ram 6 may be made sufficiently long and the clearance at the support end of the press made sufficiently great so that the axial movement of the axle 1 can be continued until it is completely removed from the wheel. It is usually desirable, however, to simply break the wheel free from the axle by moving it a short distance with respect thereto. By this practice of the invention, the Wheel remains sufiiciently in place on the axle to support it for removal from the press.

The method of the present invention can be practiced by other apparatus. For example, it could be practiced by apparatus designed to move the wheel outwardly while restraining the axle from movement. This might be accomplished either by pulling the wheel or by providing a hydraulic cylinder located in or about the abutment so that, in effect, the abutment could be moved toward a support at an end of the press. It will be appreciated that the other steps of the method may similarly be performed by different apparatus, and the description of the operation of the apparatus of the invention should not be confused with the description with the method of the invention, which is described above and delineated by the appended claims.

In the operation of the apparatus the next step is to center the axle 1 within the abutment. This is accomplished by actuating the cylinder 15 and extending the ram 16 to bear against the end 39 of the axle which is adjacent the support end of tha press. The extension of the ram 16 is continued until the axle is approximately centered in the abutment or until the hub 37 of the second wheel 3 engages the insert 31 on the abutment. In this returning movement the first wheel 2 will be carried with the axle since the friction of its hub around the axle will be greater than the friction of the supporting dolly rolling on its wheels 34 in the depressed portion of the support surface 32. After the axle is centered, the ram 16 is retracted. It should be understood that during this operation, the vertical slide bar 18 is in its upper or retracted position in which hole 19 is provided adjacent the ram 16.

The abutment and axle are then rotated about a vertical axis approximately This is accomplished by actuating the hydraulic cylinder 37 which through the linkages described above rotates shaft 27 in the abutment assembly with the support surface 32 180. Limit switches, together with known circuitry, can be used to position accurately the abutment and supported wheel set in their new orientation.

Following the rotation, the wheel set is in position for second wheel 3 to be removed from the axle 1 and this is accomplished by the extension of ram 6 as described above.

'After the wheel 3 has been loosened, the axle 1 may be recentered by ram 16 as described above, but need not be.

The wheel set is now in condition for removal from the throat of the abutment. This may be accomplished by removing the wheel set without further rotation so that it is delivered on the side of the press opposite to that on which it was received. Such delivery enables the press to be used to loosen the wheels on the axle without interrupting smooth flow of the wheel sets from the storage area to the delivery area where the wheels and the axles will be separately received.

The abutment assembly is then rotated back to its beginning orientation with the throat facing what has been called the front of the machine. If it is desired, the wheel set may be allowed to remain in the abutment assembly during this rotation so that the wheel set is delivered in the same area from which it was received.

According to further teaching of the present invention, the apparatus described above may be adapted for mounting wheels. According to this teaching, the wheels are supplied loosely fitted to the axle which may be rolled into position in the throat of the abutment assembly. The dollies are positioned to receive the wheels in their loosely fitted position. Alternatively, the axle may be fitted to the throat of the abutment assembly by a hoist and there after a wheel fitted over each end. The dollies 33 can be used to facilitate this mounting of the wheels.

For mounting operation, the ram 6 and piston assembly 7 of the main ram are provided with a mounting bracket 46 as shown in FIG. 6. The ram is in this embodiment preferably provided with a longer stroke than is necessary if the press is to be used solely for demounting and the mounting bracket 46 is adapted to bear against the hub of the wheel to press it toward the support end of the press.

Before the ram is operated, the movement of the axle toward the support end of the press is blocked by the lowering of mounting block 17 through actuation of cylinder 20.

Actuation of the ram thereupon will force the wheel onto the axle.

The abutment is thereupon rotated 180 and the operation repeated. Alternatively, the mountin-g block 17 may be fitted with a bracket corresponding to bracket 46 so that both wheels may be mounted at once. This is not considered a preferred method of operation for usual applications.

The wheels having been mounted, the wheel set may be removed from either side of the press as described above.

Other variations in the construction of specific apparatus that differ from the illustrative best embodiment described above will be apparent to men skilled in the art after studying this disclosure, and the scope of the invention is therefore defined by the following claims and equivalents thereof.

A similiar apparatus for removing wheels from a railroad axle can be constructed generally as shown in the central and right-hand portion of FIG. 3. According to this teaching the tie bars 14 are not continued leftwardly past the abutment mounts, and no tail end assembly is provided. This construction may be employed if the apparatus is to be used only for the general method of wheel demounting that is described and claimed herein.

It should be further understood that while the rotatable abument must be rigidly affixed to the tie bars during operation, it may be adjusted along the tie bars and rigidly affixed thereto at different locations so as to accommodate axles of various lengths.

We claim:

1. A wheel press for removing the wheels from an axle of a railroad wheel set having a single ram assembly, which press is characterized by including an axle support and wheel abutment rotatable about an axis transverse to the press axis for indexing the wheel on each end of the axle into operative relationship with said ram assembly.

2. A single ended wheel press according to claim 1 in which said press axis is horizontal and said axis of abutment rotation is vertical.

3. The press of claim 1 in which said ram assembly is interconnected by tie bar means to a support end assembly and in which said rotatable abutment may be rigidly afiixed to said tie bar means at one or more location between said ram assembly and said support end assembly so that, while afiixed at a specific location, it can rotate with respect to said tie bar means but it cannot move along said tie bar means.

4. The press of claim 1 which includes power means for said abutment and linkage means for interconnecting said power means and said abutment for rotation thereof upon actuation of said power means.

5. The press of claim 2 in which said abutment is provided with a throat for receiving and holding the axle of the wheel set and which press also includes a support surface under and about said throat so that wheel sets may be rolled over said support surface and into said throat of said abutment.

6. The press of claim 5 in which said support surface is mounted for rotation with said abutment.

7. The press of claim 5 in which said support surface is spaced from the throat of said abutment by a distance approximately equal to one-half the average overall diameter of the wheels of the wheel sets to be demounted so that the wheel sets can be rolled onto the abutment on their own wheels.

8. The press of claim 5 in which said support surface includes dolly surfaces which are movable in a line parallel to the throat of said abutment and positionable so as to carry a wheel therealong.

9. The press of claim 8 which includes power means for said abutment and linkage means for interconnecting said power means and said abutment for rotation thereof upon actuation of said power means.

10. The press of claim 3 which includes a small positioning rod means and powering means therefor, the rod of said rod means aligned along the press axis and adapted to center an axle displaced along the press axis by action of the ram.

11. The press of claim 3 in which the support end assembly includes an axle end stop, said stop being movable in a plane generally transverse to the press axis defined by the reciprocation of the press ram so that with the stop positioned to prevent axial movement of the axle the ram may be operated to press a wheel in place onto the wheel seat of the axle at the axle end opposite to that engaged by the stop and so that with the stop positioned so that axial movement of the axle is not prevented, the ram may be operated to press the axle from a wheel restrained from axial movement by the abutment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,091,457 3/1914 Longaker 29-252 1,196,963 9/1916 Mahr 29252 1,344,510 6/ 1920 Hilliard 29252 2,878,559 3/1959 Ryan et al. 29-252 3,189,985 6/1965 Hoffmann 29208 CHARLIE T. MOON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A WHEEL PRESS FOR REMOVING THE WHEELS FROM AN AXLE OF A RAILROAD WHEEL SET HAVING A SINGLE RAM ASSEMBLY, WHICH PRESS IS CHARACTERIZED BY INCLUDING AN AXLE SUPPORT AND WHEEL ABUTMENT ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE PRESS AXIS FOR INDEXING THE WHEEL ON EACH END OF THE AXLE INTO OPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID RAM ASSEMBLY. 